The cost of vandalism on our electric facilities
Strategic points in the Capital and several localities in darkness for over 12 hours.
Due to an act of vandalism perpetrated at about 9 p.m. on Monday, the Mbalmayo-Ahala transmission line got disconnected and fell down thereby plunging into darkness the Nsimalen international airport, Akomnyada water pumping station, the towns of Mbalmayo, Ebolowa, Sangmelima and their environs.
Our teams discovered the damages about a dozen kilometres from Yaoundé the following Tuesday after searching for several hours. Three high voltage pylons had been vandalized. The entire base of the pylons was empty, bolts had been sawed, and several base structures were twisted. Diagonal frame angles and girdle had been dismantled. Frame angles are support angle irons on pylons that afford such structures with firmness and stability. These supports, sold by vandals, are used in making kitchen utensils. These damaged pylons were recently rehabilitated. They are precisely situated on a crossover.
Power was restored to the strategic points and localities affected on Tuesday, during the day, following the first intervention of our staff. This necessitated the marshalling of thermal generation facilities as well as the reconfiguration of the network. The new configuration was not strong due to the absence of a crossover connected to the main transmission line. Thus some localities might experience disruptions in energy supply.
“The rehabilitation of damaged pylons takes long, perhaps even more than one month”, said Job Ngog, Eneo Deputy Director for Transmission.
He announced the ongoing implementation of interim measures aimed at improving stability. This necessitates the mustering of special additional means: equipment to be transported from the Littoral and additional human resources to speed up the intervention process.